Source: Stacy Revere / Getty
it turns out other cities can get just as charged up during playoff games.
Indiana Pacer Tyrese Haliburton revealed that a racial slur was hurled at his brother during one of the series’ first two games against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
“My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word. It was important for us as a family to just address that,”
Haliburton said days later during a press conference. “And that was important for us to talk about because that just didn’t sit right with anybody in our family. It’s just been important to have my family here right now. My little brother has handled that the right way.”
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His admission came when he was asked what it was like to return to his home state— he grew up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,—for the playoff series. The moment was bittersweet because he was also happy to have his family in the arena to cheer him on. Haliburton has two older brothers and one younger brother.
After Tuesday’s game, reporters asked a Bucks representative about the incident, who confirmed it did occur. However, the person who allegedly said the N-word denied it happened, so no further action was taken.
“An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday’s game, a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats. The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him,” a Bucks spokesperson responded. “The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats, and no further incident was reported.”
See below how social media is reacting to the incident as the NBA playoffs heat up.
